the financial aid fell through.
BUT.
i am nothing if not resilient, and have come up with an alternate plan. it will take me slightly longer to get through school, but hey, the time's going to pass anyway...and speaking of passing, the most pressing issue right now is quick-learning enough math to pass the assessment test and get into college algebra. (hell, i'll take intermediate algebra, too - the fewer classes i have to take, the better!)
my sinuses freaked out again, just in time for me to be pretty miserable the whole time K, J, and the kids were here last weekend. i think i'm allergic either to Windex, or to something in the heat/ac system of Mom's truck. those are the only two constants. anyway, today makes day 7, and i'm mostly feeling better! but i have to tell you about the awful night of coughing, two nights ago, that found me sitting on the kitchen floor with the cat, sipping whiskey out of a shot glass at 2am. fortunately, it worked! LOL!
the goals for this weekend:
Math
Light housecleaning
Math
Snuggling (etc)
Bake something
Cook something (healthy-ish, to balance whatever gets baked)
Math
Math
Math
Laundry
Math
Play with cat
and that's it! Happy Weekend!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
recap
whoa. six months, huh?
i guess some sum-uppage is in order:
i survived back-to-back December sinus infections while spending a large chunk of time being a reindeer (sometimes Rudolph, sometimes Doctor Reindeer, depending on the whims of Little V).
Oasis Hot Tub Gardens in Ann Arbor is very clean, reasonably priced, and super f*cking relaxing.
one of us turned 36, and the other turned 37.
E discovered the most amazing brownie recipe known to womonkind.
i made a special trip out to Portland. meet my new nephew, Little D:
E is on week three of her new job with Comcast (comm tech), and ALL THE CHANNELS ARE BELONG TO US! (mostly, this is exciting because of how much money we'll save, but also SO MANY SCIENCE AND HISTORY CHANNELS OMG!!!!)
this new job means that E will only get to go to MichFest for the weekend...if she gets to go at all.
this will be the 40th, and FINAL, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. that's a whole separate blog post in and of itself, and there are still too many feels to sort through to write it now.
Portland wooed me hardcore with all the springtime glory it could muster. i bought some yarn that captured all the different colors, and made it into arm warmers:
Dallas and Houdini have been free-ranging together for the last several weeks! He is absolutely obsessed with the cat, and she is...pretty tolerant of him, actually, considering that he has no boundaries and interprets her warning meows and swats as "YAAAAYYY WE'RE PLAYING". but hey, she's not a basement-dwelling kitty anymore, and we're all a lot happier for it.
i'm partway through a new blanket:
we're in the thick of wedding planning, and anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court to let us know if we'll be doing that here or in a different state (or country - Canada's only 20 minutes away). we're also on the fence about what we'd like to do. get legalled ASAP with a justice-of-the-peace ceremony downtown with ten guests, then go out for barbecue? or wait, and have a big shindig in my mom's back yard (also involving barbecue)? or get legalled now, and have the big party later? AAAAUGGGHHH.
at least we found the perfect cake toppers:
so that's done.
the timing is further complicated by my returning to school this fall. i'm finally taking the plunge and aiming for a BSN!!!!! I KNOW!!!! but there's the whole financial aid thing to consider. the upcoming school year is already covered (yay Pell grants!), but if we get legally married in the state of Michigan this year, i won't qualify for as much aid next year (or the two years after that). so...yeah. we're torn between doing it as soon as legally possible, and there really being no rush at all. Comcast offers same-sex partner benefits, so we'll be ok on that front if we choose to wait. but...MARRIED! but...financial aid! but...it's 2015 and we could keep track of anniversaries so easily! but...not enough time or money to get all our friends and loved ones together the way we'd really like to do. but...we were so looking forward to our first Fest as a married couple...but, new job/bad timing...
mostly, we're breathing and reminding ourselves that the marriage is what matters most - and we have a great one, officially recognized or not. the rest is just details (and an excuse to eat cake and lots of barbecue.)
i guess some sum-uppage is in order:
i survived back-to-back December sinus infections while spending a large chunk of time being a reindeer (sometimes Rudolph, sometimes Doctor Reindeer, depending on the whims of Little V).
Oasis Hot Tub Gardens in Ann Arbor is very clean, reasonably priced, and super f*cking relaxing.
one of us turned 36, and the other turned 37.
E discovered the most amazing brownie recipe known to womonkind.
i made a special trip out to Portland. meet my new nephew, Little D:
E is on week three of her new job with Comcast (comm tech), and ALL THE CHANNELS ARE BELONG TO US! (mostly, this is exciting because of how much money we'll save, but also SO MANY SCIENCE AND HISTORY CHANNELS OMG!!!!)
this new job means that E will only get to go to MichFest for the weekend...if she gets to go at all.
this will be the 40th, and FINAL, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. that's a whole separate blog post in and of itself, and there are still too many feels to sort through to write it now.
Portland wooed me hardcore with all the springtime glory it could muster. i bought some yarn that captured all the different colors, and made it into arm warmers:
Dallas and Houdini have been free-ranging together for the last several weeks! He is absolutely obsessed with the cat, and she is...pretty tolerant of him, actually, considering that he has no boundaries and interprets her warning meows and swats as "YAAAAYYY WE'RE PLAYING". but hey, she's not a basement-dwelling kitty anymore, and we're all a lot happier for it.
i'm partway through a new blanket:
we're in the thick of wedding planning, and anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court to let us know if we'll be doing that here or in a different state (or country - Canada's only 20 minutes away). we're also on the fence about what we'd like to do. get legalled ASAP with a justice-of-the-peace ceremony downtown with ten guests, then go out for barbecue? or wait, and have a big shindig in my mom's back yard (also involving barbecue)? or get legalled now, and have the big party later? AAAAUGGGHHH.
at least we found the perfect cake toppers:
so that's done.
the timing is further complicated by my returning to school this fall. i'm finally taking the plunge and aiming for a BSN!!!!! I KNOW!!!! but there's the whole financial aid thing to consider. the upcoming school year is already covered (yay Pell grants!), but if we get legally married in the state of Michigan this year, i won't qualify for as much aid next year (or the two years after that). so...yeah. we're torn between doing it as soon as legally possible, and there really being no rush at all. Comcast offers same-sex partner benefits, so we'll be ok on that front if we choose to wait. but...MARRIED! but...financial aid! but...it's 2015 and we could keep track of anniversaries so easily! but...not enough time or money to get all our friends and loved ones together the way we'd really like to do. but...we were so looking forward to our first Fest as a married couple...but, new job/bad timing...
mostly, we're breathing and reminding ourselves that the marriage is what matters most - and we have a great one, officially recognized or not. the rest is just details (and an excuse to eat cake and lots of barbecue.)
Sunday, December 7, 2014
whirlwind
Mom is resting semi-comfortably in the recliner, two days post-second-foot-surgery. the bad: two to three days in is usually when things hurt the most. the good: she knows the worst part is almost over.
i am resting semi-comfortably on my bed, on day six of the Surprise Sinus Infection From Hell. the bad: i am coughing stuff up and snotting things out. the good: i am coughing stuff up and snotting things out, and am pretty royally pissed off about it, which is a sure sign that i'm almost well. plus i don't have to clear my throat to speak audibly today.
and December marches on.....
K, J, and Little V arrive in two weeks! HOORAY! never mind that crazy work schedules, surgery, and sudden illness have left us less prepared than we would like to be - really, it's just shopping, present-wrapping, and cleaning, most of which happens last-minute every year, anyway.
this week is the eye of an extremely fun and crazy storm.
the whirlwind to come, in which we host a toddler who gets, for the first time, this whole Christmas thing - cookies! Santa! presents! lights! magic!
....and the whirlwind just passed, in which we spent Thanksgiving with E's family, saw Amma for the second time (i was so blissed out that i got up and walked off before Amma could hand me the prasad - a sacred offering, usually chocolate - and She had to call me back! She was laughing, and playfully pelted me with flower petals, it was awesome), and E surprised me by picking me up at work early (aided and abetted by my sneaky mcsneakerson boss and coworkers, who put fake client names in my schedule), taking me to dinner in Greektown and then to the Red Wings game, walking back to Greektown afterward, stopping to admire the tree at Campus Martius Park...and then getting down on one knee and asking me to marry her. and i said YES!
well, actually, first i said, "Shut the f*** up!", because i was so surprised, and then i said yes.
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basically, she re-created the night before Thanksgiving three years ago - the night it all began. the night we realized we were still in love.
it was perfect.
i am resting semi-comfortably on my bed, on day six of the Surprise Sinus Infection From Hell. the bad: i am coughing stuff up and snotting things out. the good: i am coughing stuff up and snotting things out, and am pretty royally pissed off about it, which is a sure sign that i'm almost well. plus i don't have to clear my throat to speak audibly today.
and December marches on.....
K, J, and Little V arrive in two weeks! HOORAY! never mind that crazy work schedules, surgery, and sudden illness have left us less prepared than we would like to be - really, it's just shopping, present-wrapping, and cleaning, most of which happens last-minute every year, anyway.
this week is the eye of an extremely fun and crazy storm.
the whirlwind to come, in which we host a toddler who gets, for the first time, this whole Christmas thing - cookies! Santa! presents! lights! magic!
....and the whirlwind just passed, in which we spent Thanksgiving with E's family, saw Amma for the second time (i was so blissed out that i got up and walked off before Amma could hand me the prasad - a sacred offering, usually chocolate - and She had to call me back! She was laughing, and playfully pelted me with flower petals, it was awesome), and E surprised me by picking me up at work early (aided and abetted by my sneaky mcsneakerson boss and coworkers, who put fake client names in my schedule), taking me to dinner in Greektown and then to the Red Wings game, walking back to Greektown afterward, stopping to admire the tree at Campus Martius Park...and then getting down on one knee and asking me to marry her. and i said YES!
well, actually, first i said, "Shut the f*** up!", because i was so surprised, and then i said yes.
basically, she re-created the night before Thanksgiving three years ago - the night it all began. the night we realized we were still in love.
it was perfect.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
not bad for a retrograde
we had a blast at Evil Dead: The Musical.
E started working the day shift (7am-3pm) today.
Lola shook her muffler loose this morning, as i was taking Mom to her annual eye-dilation appointment...
...two doors down from a Muffler Man repair shop, where the guy got me right in, showed me the broken pipe, explained exactly what needed to be done (properly, not a band-aid fix), gave me a 10% discount, AND waived the sales tax.
and i didn't even have to borrow money for the $469 repair.
God > Mercury.
every time.
E started working the day shift (7am-3pm) today.
Lola shook her muffler loose this morning, as i was taking Mom to her annual eye-dilation appointment...
...two doors down from a Muffler Man repair shop, where the guy got me right in, showed me the broken pipe, explained exactly what needed to be done (properly, not a band-aid fix), gave me a 10% discount, AND waived the sales tax.
and i didn't even have to borrow money for the $469 repair.
God > Mercury.
every time.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
CatCat got to do some catting in the front window...
the leaves are brilliant and beautiful and make my heart skip with happiness...
gas prices continue to fall...
and today, i won these tickets:
the dog has accepted being crated without issue, i've had a full work schedule, E might get to move to the day shift, and i found a recipe for slow-cooker chicken tikka! all in all, it's been a very busy but pretty awesome week.
Bonus Pic:
"oh, the eyes of the puppy are upon youuuuu...everything you do he's gonna see...when you're in bed, just look right on youuuuuuu....'cause that's! where the puppy's! gonna be!"
Thursday, October 9, 2014
wedding fever!
*insert disco moves here*
legally and financially, we're at least a year away from getting married - two years would be a better guess. nevertheless, i'm in full-blown planning mode this week! i figure the more we can figure out/narrow down now, and the more costs we can ballpark, the better we can prepare (and the lower our stress levels will be).
E is immensely relieved that i'm so gung-ho ("thank God one of us is into this kind of thing!"). she has pledged her input and her help with absolutely everything, but isn't comfortable planning anything larger than a Superbowl party. i think she was worried that i would be sad, but honestly? i've just been given free rein to plan our wedding.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
so far, our requirements are few. we're neither of us the princess type, and couldn't care less about things like chair covers and tulle and things matching. we just want a nice, laid-back celebration with our families and friends, and we'd like things to look suitably festive. we're also very budget-minded, and are willing to spend more on what really matters to us (great food, great pictures, an awesome first dance, a Hawaiian honeymoon) and less on things like venue and decor.
ideally, we'll be using the back yard at my Mom's house for the ceremony and reception (i say ideally because i haven't asked Mom yet. well, not recently. but she did agree to that idea twelve or so years ago...). That would mean no venue fee, but we'd need to rent a canopy, chairs, tables, tablecloths, a dance floor, and some kind of sound system. we'd also need to deep-clean the house and spruce up the yard. i've already been considering preparation timelines...have all deep-cleaning done and the yard mowed three days before; make the frosting two days before; bake the cake/cupcakes and have the rental items delivered the day before (and host a combination wedding rehearsal/table-setup/cupcake-frosting party that afternoon). that would leave the wedding day morning/early afternoon free for putting tablecloths on and decor up, with plenty of time left for getting ready! (i don't understand the common multi-hour hair and makeup sessions. i plan on looking stellar, but also looking like ME. which means very little makeup. and probably braided hair. and a dress that takes all of 5 minutes to put on, lace up, and adjust.)
the second option we're considering is a banquet hall near E's house. it's a very pretty venue, with tall windows in the main banquet room (i do like those windows), but it's also very cookie-cutter. i've emailed the contact person for rates, menu options, and rental information...the website had a list of preferred vendors for things like flowers and cakes, but i don't know if "preferred" means "you're free to use whomever you like", or "these are the only vendors we're comfortable with". and i am determined to make our wedding cake. so. we'll see how relaxed their rules are, and we'll see what the cost breakdown will be.
the theme will probably be "laid-back, colorful wedding with maybe a picnic-y vibe". metal tubs (or possibly the wheelbarrow) full of iced beers, water, and fizzy drinks! buffet-style BBQ, perhaps, or maybe individual boxed sandwiches, salads, and cookies! strings of Christmas lights around the dance floor and in the dining tent! spiked lemonade! chocolate cupcakes with fluffy white frosting and rainbow sprinkles! a bonfire, maybe...we could do individual s'mores kits as favors!
a yarn pompom bouquet!
because, obviously!
legally and financially, we're at least a year away from getting married - two years would be a better guess. nevertheless, i'm in full-blown planning mode this week! i figure the more we can figure out/narrow down now, and the more costs we can ballpark, the better we can prepare (and the lower our stress levels will be).
E is immensely relieved that i'm so gung-ho ("thank God one of us is into this kind of thing!"). she has pledged her input and her help with absolutely everything, but isn't comfortable planning anything larger than a Superbowl party. i think she was worried that i would be sad, but honestly? i've just been given free rein to plan our wedding.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
so far, our requirements are few. we're neither of us the princess type, and couldn't care less about things like chair covers and tulle and things matching. we just want a nice, laid-back celebration with our families and friends, and we'd like things to look suitably festive. we're also very budget-minded, and are willing to spend more on what really matters to us (great food, great pictures, an awesome first dance, a Hawaiian honeymoon) and less on things like venue and decor.
ideally, we'll be using the back yard at my Mom's house for the ceremony and reception (i say ideally because i haven't asked Mom yet. well, not recently. but she did agree to that idea twelve or so years ago...). That would mean no venue fee, but we'd need to rent a canopy, chairs, tables, tablecloths, a dance floor, and some kind of sound system. we'd also need to deep-clean the house and spruce up the yard. i've already been considering preparation timelines...have all deep-cleaning done and the yard mowed three days before; make the frosting two days before; bake the cake/cupcakes and have the rental items delivered the day before (and host a combination wedding rehearsal/table-setup/cupcake-frosting party that afternoon). that would leave the wedding day morning/early afternoon free for putting tablecloths on and decor up, with plenty of time left for getting ready! (i don't understand the common multi-hour hair and makeup sessions. i plan on looking stellar, but also looking like ME. which means very little makeup. and probably braided hair. and a dress that takes all of 5 minutes to put on, lace up, and adjust.)
the second option we're considering is a banquet hall near E's house. it's a very pretty venue, with tall windows in the main banquet room (i do like those windows), but it's also very cookie-cutter. i've emailed the contact person for rates, menu options, and rental information...the website had a list of preferred vendors for things like flowers and cakes, but i don't know if "preferred" means "you're free to use whomever you like", or "these are the only vendors we're comfortable with". and i am determined to make our wedding cake. so. we'll see how relaxed their rules are, and we'll see what the cost breakdown will be.
the theme will probably be "laid-back, colorful wedding with maybe a picnic-y vibe". metal tubs (or possibly the wheelbarrow) full of iced beers, water, and fizzy drinks! buffet-style BBQ, perhaps, or maybe individual boxed sandwiches, salads, and cookies! strings of Christmas lights around the dance floor and in the dining tent! spiked lemonade! chocolate cupcakes with fluffy white frosting and rainbow sprinkles! a bonfire, maybe...we could do individual s'mores kits as favors!
a yarn pompom bouquet!
Sunday, October 5, 2014
i'm typing this one-handed, because the cat is insisting that i hold her while she naps. poor thing, i know she's lonely - her basement exile continues.
last weekend, E and i hit the Michigan Renaissance Festival! i hadn't been since...ummmm...college, but found it to be just as hilarious and bawdy and fun as ever - though, perhaps, with way fewer tempting things to buy. that could just be me, though, because i'm pretty sure i was all OVER that sh*t when i was 19. ahh, tastes. how they do change.
we spent some extra money and attended the Pig & Swig - four beers paired with four different kinds of bacon! it was totally worth it, there was a minstrel band in period dress playing Irish drinking songs (one of which i remembered from elementary school music class), and we were all banging our flight paddles on the tables and bellowing along. and we did each buy one of these:
no, it's not a crystal ball. it's an acrylic sphere for contact juggling!so far, i can roll it around in my palm, and i can move it from my palm to the back of my hand, but the arm and body rolls are going to take a looong time to master.
after a long and fruitless search, i borrowed this book through an inter-library loan. god knows where my copy's got to, and i needed this hat pattern to make a Christmas present. having gotten both earflaps made and connected, i expect my book to reappear shortly!
mid-term election season is upon us, and already i'm sick of the ads and campaigning. but i couldn't resist making my political affiliation known:
love is a piece of heart-shaped chicken in your bowl of homemade chicken alfredo:
and speaking of love, yesterday E and i celebrated two years together! our friend S and her partner C were in town, so we all piled into E's car and gave C an insiders' tour of Detroit. we started with lunch here:
(not to self: you don't have to eat the entire plate of brisket in one sitting)
took a ride on the People Mover:
and finished off the day with pumpkin ale and pizza at Motor City Brewing Works. it was really a wonderful day!
today, we've taken it easy. lots of snuggling, pancakes for breakfast, and a sausage-and-tortellini stew for dinner. i need to put laundry in the dryer, wash dishes, and walk the dog...assuming Houdini lets me get up.
last weekend, E and i hit the Michigan Renaissance Festival! i hadn't been since...ummmm...college, but found it to be just as hilarious and bawdy and fun as ever - though, perhaps, with way fewer tempting things to buy. that could just be me, though, because i'm pretty sure i was all OVER that sh*t when i was 19. ahh, tastes. how they do change.
we spent some extra money and attended the Pig & Swig - four beers paired with four different kinds of bacon! it was totally worth it, there was a minstrel band in period dress playing Irish drinking songs (one of which i remembered from elementary school music class), and we were all banging our flight paddles on the tables and bellowing along. and we did each buy one of these:
after a long and fruitless search, i borrowed this book through an inter-library loan. god knows where my copy's got to, and i needed this hat pattern to make a Christmas present. having gotten both earflaps made and connected, i expect my book to reappear shortly!
mid-term election season is upon us, and already i'm sick of the ads and campaigning. but i couldn't resist making my political affiliation known:
love is a piece of heart-shaped chicken in your bowl of homemade chicken alfredo:
and speaking of love, yesterday E and i celebrated two years together! our friend S and her partner C were in town, so we all piled into E's car and gave C an insiders' tour of Detroit. we started with lunch here:
took a ride on the People Mover:
visited the Heidelberg Project:
and finished off the day with pumpkin ale and pizza at Motor City Brewing Works. it was really a wonderful day!
today, we've taken it easy. lots of snuggling, pancakes for breakfast, and a sausage-and-tortellini stew for dinner. i need to put laundry in the dryer, wash dishes, and walk the dog...assuming Houdini lets me get up.
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